Sudan, S. Sudan sign security agreement

Sudan and South Sudan on Friday signed a security agreement which aims to defuse tensions over oil payments which officials had warned could spark a war between the two countries, the Reuters reports.

Landlocked South Sudan took three-quarters of Sudan's oil production -- the lifeline of both economies -- but needs to sell its crude through northern export facilities.

Both countries have failed to agree on a transit pipeline fee. Juba shut down last month its entire oil output after Khartoum started seizing southern oil as compensation for what it calls unpaid fees.

Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir warned last week that the tensions with South Sudan, which became independent in July, could lead to war between the two countries.